Every just man receives the grace of potential perseverance. It is likewise important to distinguish between the power to persevere in grace and actual perseverance. Thomas, Summa theologiae, 1a2ae, 109.10). Many receive grace who do not persevere in grace to the end of life (St. It is important to distinguish between perseverance and final perseverance. No one … so long as he lives in this mortal life, ought to be so presumptuous about the deep mystery of divine predestination as to decide with certainty that he is definitely among the number of the predestined, as though it were true that, because he is justified, either he cannot sin again, or, if he does sin, he should promise himself certain repentance. The Council of Trent speaks of "the great gift of final perseverance" and links it with the mystery of predestination: Thomas combines these elements in defining final perseverance as "the abiding in good to the end of life" (St. ![]() ![]() This depends on God's special protection. The second is the fact of death in the state of grace. ![]() The first is a certain continuance in grace. It stresses the two essentially related elements that constitute the grace of final perseverance. ![]() It bypasses, as exceptional cases, the situation of the baptized who never reaches the age of reason and the situation of the sinner who finds reconciliation with God only at the hour of death. The simplicity of this description has a twofold merit. Living and dying in the grace of Christ is final perseverance.
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